The present invention relates, in general, to a mixing system for the production of materials such as fertilizers, and more particularly to an automated batch blending system for liquid fertilizer.
Prior art systems for the manufacture of fertilizer have generally been manually controlled and consist of fluid batch blending devices which produce 10 to 15 tons of fertilizer per batch, with hourly production ranging from 30 to 100 tons. Such systems require from 10 to 20 horsepower per ton to operate, so that the cost for building and operating such a system, and the production rates which it requires, are so high, that retail outlets cannot justify their installation and use. As a result, fertilizer must be made at central locations and transported to the retail outlets for storage, with consequent increased costs and reduced efficiency.